The Saga of Erik the Viking

The Saga of Erik the Viking (popularly known as Erik the Viking) is a text-based adventure game by the Austin brothers of Level 9 Computing, published by Mosaic Publishing in 1984. The game runs on Amstrad CPC, BBC model B, Commodore 64 and Sinclair ZX Spectrum. The game is a typical text-based adventure of the mid-1980s and versions are still available on Spectrum Emulators today.

The game is loosely based on the 1983 award-winning children's novel of the same name by Terry Jones. A number of characters and items in the computer game are drawn from the novel, although the plot is completely different. Jones also directed a 1989 movie Erik the Viking.

You are Erik the Viking, and it is your task to find your family, who have been kidnapped by the evil Dogfighters. In the first part of the game, Erik is on the mainland. He makes preparations for sailing, finds his weapons and gathers together a crew, who include Blind Thorkhild, Sven the Strong and Ragnar Forkbeard.

Most of the game is set on the sea, with Erik steering his ship, the Golden Dragon, through the northern seas. He visits a number of different islands to collect the necessary items and meet the necessary characters to rescue his family and win the game. These include an enchantress in a cave hidden in a forest, the wizard Al Kwasarmi on a stone quay, and the enchanter's daughter Freya. The enchanter's study contains a list of the items that Erik needs to complete the game, and Al Kwasarmi makes them into the ribbon that Erik needs to rescue his family. A dragon may also interrupt Erik's quest!

Source: Wikipedia, Erik the Viking (game) , available under the CC-BY-SA License.